Info Edge Q1 revenue rises 14% to Rs 626 crore, net profit down 50% amid weak IT sector hiring

The Info Edge founder says it is a good time to take bet on young companies as valuations have become reasonable and round sizes have shrunk

Info Edge saw its consolidated revenue rise 14 percent to Rs 626 crore and and net profit drop 50 percent to Rs 147 crore in the June quarter (Q1) of financial year 2023-2024, compared to the year-ago period, amid weak billings growth of its flagship recruiting platform Naukri due to a fall in IT sector job openings.

Billing for the June quarter dropped marginally by 0.2 percent year on year and stood at Rs 523 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing on August 11.

Hitesh Oberoi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer said “The Naukri business is facing headwinds in IT hiring, however the non-IT hiring market continues to look good. Growth in 99acres continues to be strong. In Jeevansathi our freemium strategy has helped us bring down our marketing spend and cut burn over the last few quarters.”

The revenues for the quarter in the recruitment business grew 15.3 percent year on year while the revenues in real estate business grew 24.6 percent.

The company registered a growth of 37.2 percent in its operating profit which stood at Rs 208.9 crore on standalone basis for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2023 as compared to a profit of Rs 152.3 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. The standalone business generated cash from operation of Rs 144.6 cror for the quarter.

The company swung back to profits after registering a net loss of Rs 503 crore in the March quarter (Q4 FY23) on account of some of its early stage startup investments turning sour or facing large drops in valuation, amid one of the worst funding winters in recent times.

On a standalone basis, Info Edge's revenue from operations rose 15 percent to Rs 584 crore while net profit jumped 35 percent to Rs 200 crore.

Info Edge's earnings per share was back in the black in Q1 at Rs 12.25.

Chintan Thakkar, CFO and Whole Time Director, said, “Despite the challenging environment in IT recruitment, growth in Billings and rationalization of spending in 99acres, Shiksha and Jeevansathi
business contributed to generating Rs 145 crore of cash from operations in Q1’24."

The stock has fallen 4.27 percent to Rs 4,452 today on the BSE, after opening at Rs 4,650.40 apiece.